ComputerWorld posted a story that Microsoft will give resellers up to $10 for each device they sell from a list of 21 Windows 8 touch-enabled PCs and tablets

The new program is the latest move by Microsoft to kick up sales, which on the PC side have been downright depressing. Research firm IDC, for instance, has forecast a decline of nearly 8% for 2013, and has already hinted that the drop may be even steeper. In tablets, Microsoft has had little luck in making much of an inroad into a market dominated by operating systems built by rivals Apple and Google.

But the selective nature of the incentive program -- fewer than two dozen different devices qualify -- shows it's also a continuation of a strategy Microsoft has used since last summer's launch of the Surface line, when the company said it entered the hardware business to have a platform that really flaunted Windows 8.